Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of Lazard Q1 Earnings

Lazard, Inc. (NYSE:LAZ - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Lazard in a research note issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings of $0.81 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.83. The consensus estimate for Lazard's current full-year earnings is $2.27 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Lazard's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $4.18 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.61 EPS.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $646.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $644.22 million. Lazard had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 42.20%. The business's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lazard in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lazard from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Lazard from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities upped their price target on Lazard from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lazard from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lazard has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.00.

Lazard Trading Up 1.6 %

Lazard stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.72. 815,271 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,630. Lazard has a fifty-two week low of $30.99 and a fifty-two week high of $61.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.28.

Lazard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lazard's payout ratio is currently 79.68%.

Institutional Trading of Lazard

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Lazard in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,322,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lazard by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 69,760 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,515,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lazard by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,813,553 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $91,392,000 after buying an additional 15,151 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lazard during the third quarter worth approximately $296,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Lazard by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,142 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares in the last quarter. 54.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lazard Company Profile

Lazard, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial advisory and asset management firm in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. It operates in two segments, Financial Advisory and Asset Management. The Financial Advisory segment offers financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, shareholder, sovereign, geopolitical advisory, and other strategic advisory services, as well as restructuring and liability management, and capital raising and placement services.